Aerial Views
by Violet JC
Summary: What happens when H. J. Potter learns that James is not his father? Or when an adult Sirius accidently reveals his deepest secret to Ron? And what do you get when you send Hermione into the past with knowledge that could Change the future? Full sum. insid
1. Prologue

What happens when H. J. Potter learns that James is not his father? Or when an adult Sirius accidently reveals his deepest secret to Ron? And what do you get when you send Hermione into the past with knowledge that could Change the future? If James finds something he shouldn't- will it destroy him or will it teach him to value friendship above all else? And last of all will Remus learn to trust those closest to him or will he be shunned by those He thought were his friends? Read this to find out the answers to these Questions and more.

**Prologue**

Drip… drip…

Ping.

Drip… drip……

Ping….

Patches of ooze spotted the floor of the cave, looking-glass surfaces concealing mottled green sludge. Only the occasional splash of a droplet off the cave's ceiling disturbed the illusion, shattering the mirror's surface and making mossy swirls flow in odd patterns through a puddle. The slime smelled so atrocious that many a visitor left without ever looking into the eerie shouts and cries emanating from the cave.

The moon, a bright half, was low and watery in the sky, filling a good portion of the cavern with light. Its light reflected orange on the puddles of goop. Perilous looking stalactites and stalagmites randomly set throughout the cavern cast the rest of the cavern in dark shadow.

In the moonlight a spider spun its web. Beads of dew reflected light from the moon.  
The glow that the web emitted was only rivaled by the slime glowing orange. The spider sat watching and waiting, its web now complete.

The silence in the air was broken by the awakening animals of night.

A chorus of crickets started up, followed by the rustling of rats, mice and shrews. In the entrance of the cavern sat a small pile of bones under which something lurked.

Screeching filled the air, followed by the whooshing of wings. The pile of bones moved, clattering to the floor as what had hidden there rocketed out and jumped, catching a wing in its jaws.

Briefly there were crunching sounds and then, as suddenly as the sounds started, they stopped.

Drip... drip...

Ping.

Drip...

Ping.

Now a boy sat in the cave, which for the last thousand or so years had been situated above the village of 

Hogsmeade. The stone and dirt that made up the floor chilled him as he sat on it. Icy water dripped from stalactites, drenching him to the bone. The cold wind from the mouth of the cave whooshed around him, almost knocking him into the enchanted fire

He glared at the fire as if it was the source of all his problems. He had spent months in this cave; barely eating, sleeping even less. The boy, with his gaunt face and sunken eyes, closely resembled a skeleton. He had powerful eyes, though; far from handsome, admittedly, but what they lacked in beauty they held in a certain reserve of fear. Fear and anger. The metallic blue eyes of this self-imposed outsider hid something that few understood. They hid the story behind all his problems, all his fear.

Immersed in his thoughts, the boy didn't notice as someone approached him. Nor did he notice when the man with straggly brown-black hair crouched down to look at him. His mind failed to register when shortly thereafter he was given something to eat.

Eventually the red-headed boy curled up by the fire and fell asleep. For the first time in a very long time he did not dream. But that was all right. For the moment, he was friends with peace.

Sirius Black sat in the cave, watching the red-headed boy. _I wish he would talk to me_, he thought. _I can't say blame him, after what happened. Still, it's not my fault that I remember something new while he forgets something old._ Every day Sirius remembered something from his Hogwarts years; yesterday it had been James and Harry making everyone think they were the other. _That was a funny one. The only one who didn't fall for it was Lily, she–_ His thoughts were interrupted. Sirius Black stood up in the cave of ghastly smells and whispering dead. His eyes were worried. His thoughts had been interrupted when he heard the boy coughing up what sounded to be his lungs. "Are you all right?" Sirius asked genially, though he was concerned.

"I'm fine," the boy wheezed, breaking his vow of silence.

Sirius did not believe him for a second. "Are you sure?"

"Sirius, I said, I was fine!" Ron snapped.

"Ron, I think it's time for you to go back to your parents, your family. Stop dwelling on the past. Dumbledore agrees with me, you know. He wants you to return," Sirius said in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

"No, Sirius!" So, the little traitor had been talking to Dumbledore after all! Ron thought venomously.

"Ron, listen to me. Your parents are looking for you. The whole wizarding world is looking for you! You need to go back, Ron, and talk to people. Do you truly think that everyone forgot about you? Do you actually believe that you are alone? Ron, you think that everyone abandoned you, but you are the one abandoning everyone else!" Sirius was fed up with the boys wallowing ways.

"I never abandoned anybody!" Ron protested.

"Really? How about your sister?" Sirius was getting nasty but he didn't care.  


"But don't you see, Sirius, I can't go back. Not after I almost killed Ginny! Besides my mum, is probably the only one who thinks I'm still alive!"

"You're wrong, Ron. I believed you to be alive." Her voice made him freeze. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time... A very long time. The sound of footsteps followed the voce.

Ron couldn't bear seeing her face. Not after what he had done. Closing his eyes, he looked away, but he felt her hand pulling his face towards hers. She murmured to him, "Ron, open your eyes. I do not care what you almost did. It's no more your fault than I am a warthog."

Ron looked into her eyes. "Oh, Ginny, I am sorry! I shouldn't have let you come along."

"I would have come no matter what you had said."

"Still–."

Ginny's eyes glistened with tears. Her nose was stuffy as she looked at what her brother had become. No longer looking like himself, Ron seemed to have aged in the past five months. He looked frail. His red hair, once bright and laughing, now looked dull and miserable. Her brother's eyes were full of longing and despair. She resented the need to tell him why she had come, the news that he should hear. He did not look up to hearing it. Ron barely looked half of what he used to.

Sirius, unaware of Ginny's thoughts, nudged her and said, "Ginny, it's time to tell him." She nodded in agreement.

"Ron," she said whispering so low it was almost impossible to hear her, "I… I… I don't know how to tell you this, but Hagrid... he's… he's- Ron, Hagrid is going to die." She was so quiet in saying this that at first Ron thought he must have misunderstood.

"It's true; I saw it for myself," Sirius added, knowing there was doubt in the young man's mind.

"No! It's not true– he can't– he won't– I don't believe you!" Ron's outburst ended in a hacking cough that was worse than earlier. "NO," he repeated one last time, then promptly blacked out.


	2. Memories

**A/N ****so on the prologue I forgot to put a disclaimer on… so. Once upon a time there was a frog that was cursed, a princess could not free him from this curse. Nothing could. All day and all night people heard this poor frog croak, "I Don't Own Harry Potter!!"**

Chapter One

Memories

_ "I WILL START BY TELLING YOU THE TRUTH."  
_  
Harry Potter was half way through his first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He would have never thought that being a wizard could be so boring. True, living at Hogwarts was way better than being tormented by his oaf of a cousin, Dudley, and his uncle Vernon. Still, it was fairly boring- he had a need for adventure. He had thought that Hogwarts would fulfill that need, but unfortunately it had not.

He was startled by the sound of an owl tapping on his window pane, delivering a note that summoned him to the headmaster's office. It baffled him as to why Dumbledore should call for him in the dead of night. But Harry did not wish to question the headmaster's tactics, so he allowed himself to be roused from bed at midnight, on Wednesday (or was it Thursday now?).

"Come in, Harry," Albus called as Harry raised his hand to knock. "Harry," the professor continued, "I have called you here tonight to tell you something of the utmost importance. It is about what truly happened ten years ago."

"But professor- Hagrid already told me what happened."

"AHH- yes, I know well what Hagrid has told you."

"Then what is it you want to tell me?"

Dumbledore looked a bit worn out as he tried to figure out the best way to tell Harry what happened. Sighing, he said, "Please sit, Harry, for what I want to share with you must be shown." He got up and went to a cupboard. Coming back with a stone object, he winced at the weight. Harry, though, didn't notice; he was too busy staring at the odd runes along the edges of the stone bowl.

The headmaster explained, "It is called a pensieve, Harry. It allows one to once more view a memory long ago made. If you wish, you can view the memories of others."

Harry found that he was apprehensive about the pensieve. What was it that Dumbledore wanted him to know?

"I will start by telling you the truth. If you like, you may tell Ron and Hermione what you see. Now, come closer." And with that they dived into the pensieve.

--  


They were in a white room with an odd pink spiral plant that had only two leaves and no flowers, in the corner. Harry saw four adults. None but Dumbledore looked familiar. There was a lean man with a mustache that kept wiggling. His hair was neat, not a strand out of place. Next to him stood an older man, who had to be at least a head shorter and six years older. His hair was sticking out in every direction, and he kept running his fingers through it. Most of his hair was grey now, but parts were still dark black. The man was holding a navy blue bundle.

There was a bed that was a standard rock-hard brick hospital bed, in the middle of the room. In this bed was a slightly grey-haired woman. She was holding another tightly wrapped blue bundle. The woman seemed to glow as she looked at the younger Dumbledore. He started to speak.

"Mrs. Potter, I must congratulate you on your sons- they are most beautiful."

Naomie smiled proudly, sitting up straighter in her bed. Looking down at the boy she held, she said, "I have decided to name him Harry James Potter. His brother is James Harry Potter, so it is only fitting."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Mr. Potter interjected, speaking for the first time.

--

Everything started spinning.

"Professor, what was that all about?" asked an anxious Harry.

"Let me show you a few more things. I will explain later."

With that they dived once more into the pensieve.

"Are you sure that you want to go through with this, Naomie?"

"Yes, professor- Harry is needed, after all."

"Wise choice. Have you mentioned anything to John?"

Naomie looked away, closing her eyes as she did so. "I... I… I-I couldn't bear it." Tears were streaming down her face.

"What will you tell him when he gets home?" he prodded gently.

"I don't have a clue," she wailed.  


Back in Dumbledore's office, Harry opened his mouth to ask something when he noticed that they weren't alone. Two other people were in the headmaster's office.

They were none other than Dumbledore and Dumbledore. Yes, now instead of one or maybe even two there were three headmasters. It was a fairly odd sight to see. As no one but Harry was there to witness it, however, the thought was not likely to strike another person in a similar way.

For about three minutes two of the Dumbledores just stared at one another. After what seemed like eternity, three words came out of the youngest's mouth: "Here he is."

Albus took a bundle from his younger self. It seemed to Harry that the bundle just appeared out of nowhere. They exchanged a few more urgent words before the time traveling Dumbledore took his leave.

--

A new memory then appeared, replacing the old.

--

Professor Dumbledore knocked on a red and gold door. After he waited patiently for a few seconds, a young woman opened the door a crack. "Who is it?" she whispered in a stressed tone.

"It is Albus Dumbledore, with the package," he answered calmly. Recognizing his voice rather than his words, she opened the door the rest of the way.

She smiled warmly, her eyes still a tad bit cold. Her eyes were greener than emeralds, as were her robes. The robes made her red hair stand out even more than usual. Yet one could tell that she was scared by the way she shut the door, and the way she held herself, the worry lines on her should be twenty year old face. Although she had wrinkles on her cheeks, she was still beautiful. Anyone would say so- maybe even the Dark Lord himself.

"Lily, how are you?" the headmaster asked conversationally.

"Oh… fine. Is he alright? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you think that I should feed him?" Lily asked earnestly.

"Slow down Lily, let him sit down." A new face entered the room. He had raven colored hair. Dumbledore handed the bundle to Lily. She cooed, cuddling the worn out babe. The man looked perplexed- How can that be my brother, the winner of this war? he thought. He's not quite one, yet he is to defeat the Lord Voldemort?' That was basically what everyone was thinking, actually. Not Harry, though– he didn't know about the saving the world thing just yet.  


Everything once again started spinning; nothing but black surrounded the two memory surfers. With a thud, they landed back in Dumbledore's office. "Sit," the headmaster commanded, then listened to his own advice.

"Sir, what- what's the deal with all this? Why are–?" Dumbledore cut Harry short with a sigh.

"Harry, please try to understand what I'm about to tell you. And please don't interrupt." He held up his hand to quell the young boy's questions.

"But-."

"Harry," he warned.

"Okay," Harry sighed in defeat.

"For starters, the babe that you saw- the one that Naomie Potter was holding-."

"The one I was named after." Harry was trying to speed things along. Dumbledore very much wanted to let out an exasperated sigh, but thought better of it.

"No, Harry, you weren't named after him. You-," he was having trouble figuring out the right words to say, "You ARE him. James wasn't your father: he is your brother, your twin, to be exact. Lily Evans Potter wasn't your mother; Naomie Potter is. Jonathan B. Potter is your father- James and you, Harry, are his children."

When the headmaster finished his little speech, Harry felt that his world was collapsing around his shoulders. He could only manage a small sound and look of disbelief. Dumbledore must be lying! This was some cruel joke! Thoughts like these flew through his confused brain. He desperately wanted Dumbledore to be wrong. He would not believe it! There was a mistake, a, a mix up of some sort.

And yet, he felt it to be true. It was odd, because he would rather have James for his father. Not some guy named Jonathan. The odd part was that no matter how much he denied it, he knew it to be true. No matter what he did he could not escape the truth. No one ever did.

--

Dumbledore sat alone in his office. Sleep did not come to him that night as he stayed there pondering what he had told Harry. Like a candle before bed, the twinkle had long been extinguished from his eyes. Deep in thought, he had not guessed that Harry would take the news so hard. For a long time the Hogwarts headmaster had been biting back what he knew he had to say. He did not want to tell Harry this- not at first, at least. So at first he had said nothing.

Albus Dumbledore got up from his seat and went over (over where?) in time to see Fawkes erupt into 

flames. He sighed, stroking the new chick's fluffy head. In the morning he would have to talk to Hermione, but that could wait. Tonight she needed sleep.

--

When Fawkes erupted into flames, Harry, back in his bed, was beginning to get to sleep when a random thought crossed his mind. "At least being a wizard isn't so dull ALL of the time." With that, he was out for the rest of the night.

A/N: if anybody is reading this- and somebody better be I've been working on this for almost two years!- you better review!! PLEASE REVIEW!! O, what did you think of the disclaimer? Cheesy much?


	3. Train Rides CHAPPY HAS BEEN CHANGED

**A/N sorry, I thought I had put this up a while ago….**

**OPPS!! forgot to chsnge something, its fixed now...**

**I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters, besides any I creat. Oh, and I also own the Plot Bunny**

**CHAPTER 2 ****Train Rides**

**"...when that didn't work they dumped two gigantic buckets of water, each the size of a newly born elephant, on his bed. That still had no effect..."**

James was saying goodbye to his parents on platform 9 ¾. He had been trying to get away from them for a full hour; that was how long they'd been there saying goodbye. His mom had insisted that they get there early and when they arrived she wouldn't let him leave. The train, however, was getting set to go with or without him. James was bored of his mother's anxious farewells: she would tell him to be a good boy and that they loved him VERY MUCH, she would kiss him goodbye wiping tears from her face, and after hugging him, she would start all over again.

"Naomie, dear, James is going to miss the train," James's father interrupted.

"Mum, I'll be fine. I promise I'll write once a month, at least," he reassured her for the umpteenth time.

--

A boy with sandy blond hair sat in a compartment all to himself. He was small for his age, and had a pale complexion. He was thinking about a new chart that he had gotten from his aunt, when somebody opened the door.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Nah," the first boy replied, taking in the untidy black hair and hazel eyes of his new companion.

"Thanks. I'm James Potter by the way."

"I'm–—"  
He was cut off when another first-year opened the door. The new boy had fathomless grey eyes. Long black hair dominated his head. For a boy so young, he was quite handsome. But there was a look in his eyes– a look that Remus took to be madness. At first glance, the kid appeared to be crazy.

"So, are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to introduce yourself?" With a flush Remus realised that he had been staring.

"James Potter at your service! Oh and he's Moony."

"Uhhummm." It was as if he was trying to criticise their names yet keep them in suspense at the same time. "I am Sirius, Sirius Black."

"Well, hello Sirius, Sirius Black. It's ever so nice to finally meet you." James was playing along.

"Is your name actually Moony?"

Remus's face was a tad pink- how could he have forgotten? James knew. Great, now he would never make friends with anybody without him telling them. Oh well, it was worth trying. "No, it's Remus!"

--

A boy with raven-coloured hair, emerald green eyes, and round wire-rimmed glasses jumped onto the train just as it started moving. Looking for a compartment, he moved on to the next car. Surprisingly, this one wasn't completely empty.

He had seen many mean looking people in his young life. None of them, however, looked as nasty as the one who stood in front of him at that very moment. He had long greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and cold black eyes. He was lanky; almost everything about him was long and skinny: his fingers, his legs, even his chin and feet. His arms and body were twice the length they should be on a normal eleven-year-old. Actually, the only way one could tell that the greasy-haired boy was eleven was his voice– it was too high-pitched for somebody in second or third year.

"Potter, what are you doing? Can't find somewhere to sit?" he sneered.

"No, actually, I was looking for you."

His eyebrows shot up. "Oh, really?" he drawled.

"Yeah." The boy with the glasses finally knew who this greasy-haired eleven year old was: Snape.

"Hey, grease bucket, I bet house-elves could fry something with the grease theycould get from your hair."

The unexpected voice made the first boy spin around.

"What did you call me!" Snape said, his voice dangerously low.

"Why your name, your Greasy-ness." The new boy replied.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"Sirius, why, who are you?" His voice was uninviting and his eyes were narrowed.

"Harry, Harry Potter." He said without enthusiasm. It was odd people not automatically knowing who he was, yet Harry liked it this way. It was better– simpler. When Harry announced his name, Sirius cracked a welcoming smile.

Putting an arm around him, Sirius turned his back on Snape and led Harry to his compartment. Throwing the door open, he yelled, "James! You said you didn't have any brothers!"

Confused, James said, "Whaaaat? I don't have any brothers!"

"Oh, then I suppose you don't know who this charming young lad is." Charming was a strange way to describe Harry with his baggy clothes and unkempt hair, but oddly enough it fit.

"Actually, no, I don't," James replied after a minute's pause.

A look of confusion appeared on Sirius' face. "But his name is–."

"Potter. His name's Harry Potter," Remus pointed out in a tone that suggested Harry's arrival was about as likely as the appearance of a shooting star on the train.

"How do you know that?" the other three boys asked in unison.

"I heard Dumbledore talking to my dad and some lady." He shrugged.

"Oh."

They said no more on the subject, and started discussing which house they'd each liked to be in. "Well," Remus thought aloud, "I wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw. What do you think, Sirius?"

"Mum wants me to be in Slytherin, but I say colour me Gryffindor!"

James said, "I bet we all end up in Slytherin!"

"Oh yeah, well then you'll just have to live through this, then, won't ya," Sirius said darkly before dogpiling James, with the others quickly following suit. Soon enough, their scuffle forgotten, they were ridding piggyback down the aisle making as much ruckus as possible, banging on the compartment windows and screaming. When they had proceeded down half the train, leaving many annoyed classmates in their wake, their fun came to an embarrassing end. A group of first year girls had just come out of their compartments, looking for the source of the noise, and James, who was in the lead with Remus, crashed into the group of girls.

"Hey! Get off me!" a girl screeched.

"Sorry. But you really you shouldn't have been in the middle of the aisle like that."

"MEE! ME! I shouldn't have been in the aisle! No! You shouldn't have been racing down the aisle like that! YOU! NOT ME! NOT MY FRIENDS! NO, YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!"

By the time she finished yelling James had shrunk down to the size of a tadpole, or at least as close as he could get.

Lily Evans stormed back into her compartment. She was followed by three of her four friends.

The fourth girl hesitated before saying, "She's sort of mad at her sister. It's not entirely your fault." With that, she left.

James just stood there, his mouth going up and down as he tried to find his voice. Who was that fiery red-head with striking green eyes? Was she an Angel? James wondered. She had to be.

At last Sirius broke into his friends thoughts, "Come on, mate, we should change into our robes." James made an odd type of whimpering sound; nevertheless, he followed Sirius obediently.


End file.
